How Do You Verify a Vendor's Bank Account Change?

Treat the request as a proposed change to the supplier record, not an instruction to pay. Save the original request and mark the change as pending. Hold affected payments while verification is incomplete; do not assume that either the old or proposed account is safe to use without clarification.

Record the supplier, reason given, affected invoices and person handling the check. Tell the supplier through an established channel that your business verifies changes before using them. An urgent dispatch, overdue bill or request from a senior colleague should not remove this step.

Use contact details established before the change request, such as a number checked during supplier onboarding or a previously verified contact in your supplier record. Take the number from that record yourself. Do not use a new number supplied in the email, its attachment or the replacement invoice.

Call an authorised supplier representative and ask them to state the beneficiary name, account number, bank and IFSC. Compare these with the request. Confirm the reason for the change and whether the old account remains usable. If your usual contact cannot authorise banking instructions, use the established channel to reach someone who can.

An email states what the sender wants you to do. A replacement invoice states where the document asks you to pay. Neither, by itself, establishes that an authorised supplier representative approved the change. Replying to the request only continues the same conversation; it does not independently verify its origin.

Treat a cancelled cheque, bank letter or account screenshot as supporting material. Compare it with the independently confirmed details, but do not let it replace that confirmation. A familiar signature, logo or reference to an outstanding invoice should not be your approval test.

Keep invoice approval separate from bank-change approval. The business may owe a valid bill while the proposed payment destination remains unverified. Use the supplier payment run weekly routine guide to place this check before payment preparation and release.

Assign a requester, verifier, record editor and approver. In a small business, some roles may overlap, but require a second person to review the independently obtained confirmation and approve the exact account details. Avoid allowing one person to change the destination and release the payment without another check.

• ✓Give supplier bank-detail editing access only to named users who need it.
• ✓Use individual logins and remove access when responsibilities change.
• ✓Restrict bank beneficiary creation and payment approval as well as accounting-system edits.
• ✓Check that approval covers the final saved details; any later alteration needs fresh review.
• ✓Where the system cannot enforce approval, keep a separate change register and have the payment approver compare it with the saved beneficiary.

Keep one linked record that lets another authorised person reconstruct the decision. Store sensitive documents in a restricted location and refer to them from the change register. Use masked account details in routine reports while retaining the full comparison securely.

• The original request, supplier reference, reason and time received.
• Previous and proposed details, with supporting documents where available.
• The independent contact source, representative reached and basis for their authority.
• What was confirmed, by whom, when, and how discrepancies were resolved.
• The approval decision, editor and saved change history.
• The payment check, release reference and any later correction.

A note saying only 'verified by phone' leaves the contact source and result unclear. Follow your record-retention policy and restrict access to people who need the evidence.

Illustrative example: a workshop receives a replacement invoice asking for payment to a new account before goods leave the godown. The accounts assistant holds that payment and calls the supplier's previously verified accounts number. The authorised representative confirms the proposed account but gives a different IFSC.

The assistant keeps the change pending until the difference is resolved through the established channel and corrected instructions are recorded. The owner reviews the evidence and approves the final details. The editor updates the record, and the payment checker compares the beneficiary with the approval before release.

Use the bank reconciliation monthly routine guide afterwards to match the bank debit with the books. Reconciliation supports follow-up; it should not replace verification before payment.

• Calling the number in the change request instead of using an independently established contact.
• Accepting an explanation for a beneficiary-name difference without resolving who should receive payment.
• Approving a vague instruction such as 'update bank details' without identifying the exact destination.
• Updating the accounting record while leaving an old beneficiary or payment file in use.
• Treating a small test transfer as proof of supplier authority.
• Letting urgency replace verification or leaving the change without a recorded decision.

If payment has already gone to a disputed account, contact your bank immediately through its established channel and explain the concern. Preserve the request, verification record and payment reference. Do not send another payment until the supplier and your business have resolved the position.